I Reads You

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for May 29 2013

DARK HORSE COMICS

MAR130018 AMALAS BLADE #2 $3.50

MAR130044 ANGEL & FAITH #22 STEVE MORRIS CVR $2.99

MAR130048 BPRD VAMPIRE #3 $3.50

MAR130023 DRAGON AGE UNTIL WE SLEEP #3 $3.99

MAR130026 KING CONAN HOUR O/T DRAGON #1 $3.50

MAR138243 LAST OF US AMERICAN DREAMS #1 (2ND PTG) $3.99

MAR130029 LAST OF US AMERICAN DREAMS #2 $3.99

JAN130115 STAR WARS OMNIBUS WILD SPACE TP VOL 01 $24.99

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for May 29 2013

Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for May 29 2013

Digital Comics: Digital new releases available from your local comic book shop are marked below. [DIG] = Digital version available. [DIG/P+] = Print-Plus digital/print combo pack available. For more information, go to www.digitalcomicsreader.com.

PREVIEWS PUBLICATIONS
APR130005 PREVIEWS #297 JUNE 2013 [DIG/P+] $4.50
APR130008 PREVIEWS #297 JUNE 2013 CUSTOMER ORDER FORM PI

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

MAR130950 ADVENTURE TIME ANNUAL #1 $4.99

JAN131212 ANNOYING ORANGE GN VOL 02 ORANGE YOU GLAD $6.99

JAN131213 ANNOYING ORANGE HC VOL 02 ORANGE YOU GLAD $10.99

MAR130808 ARCHIE #644 ARCHIE MEETS GLEE PT 4 [DIG/P+] $2.99

MAR130811 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #240 [DIG/P+] $3.99

MAR131155 ASTRONAUT ACADEMY RE ENTRY GN $9.99

APR131376 BOYS OF STEEL THE CREATORS OF SUPERMAN YR HC $16.99

FEB130718 BREATHER GN [DIG/P+] $6.95

MAR131204 CAGE OF EDEN GN VOL 10 $10.99

NOV121173 CAT ON A HOT THIN GROOVE TP $35.00

APR130778 CAVEWOMAN UNCOVERED PINUP BOOK BUDD ROOT SP ED (MR) PI

MAR130920 CLIVE BARKER NEXT TESTAMENT #1 (MR) [DIG] $3.99

MAR130767 COMPLEX GN VOL 01 WAYS OF LIFE (MR) $11.99

MAR130860 CROSSED BADLANDS #29 (MR) $3.99

MAR130862 CROSSED BADLANDS #29 TORTURE CVR (MR) $3.99

MAR130861 CROSSED BADLANDS #29 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99

FEB130948 DARK SHADOWS VAMPIRELLA TP $19.99

APR120830 DEAD MANS RUN #5 CVR A PARKER [DIG] $3.50

APR120831 DEAD MANS RUN #5 CVR B OUM $3.50

MAR130931 DEATHMATCH #6 MAIN COVERS [DIG] $3.99

MAR130855 EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ASSASSINS #11 CVR A CAFARO $3.99

MAR130856 EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ASSASSINS #11 CVR B OUM $3.99

MAR130913 FUTURAMA COMICS #67 $2.99

MAR131395 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #85 A CVR TYNDALL (UNLSHD PT2) (MR) $5.99

MAR131396 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #85 B CVR CAFARO (UNLSHD PT2) (MR) $5.99

FEB131213 GFT REALM KNIGHTS ONE SHOT A CVR REYES (MR) $5.99

FEB131214 GFT REALM KNIGHTS ONE SHOT B CVR TOLIBAO (MR) $5.99

FEB131215 GFT REALM KNIGHTS ONE SHOT C CVR QUALANO (MR) $5.99

MAR131407 GFT WONDERLAND #11 A CVR CUMMINGS (MR) $2.99

MAR131408 GFT WONDERLAND #11 B CVR BROOMALL (MR) $2.99

MAR131403 GFT WONDERLAND DOWN RABBIT HOLE #1 A CVR SPAY (MR) $2.99

MAR131404 GFT WONDERLAND DOWN RABBIT HOLE #1 B CVR HORN (MR) $2.99

MAR131405 GFT WONDERLAND DOWN RABBIT HOLE #1 C CVR CAFARO (MR) $2.99

MAR131406 GFT WONDERLAND DOWN RABBIT HOLE #1 D CVR CHA (MR) $2.99

MAR131206 GHOST IN SHELL STAND ALONE COMPLEX GN VOL 04 (MR) $10.99

MAR130782 GOLD DIGGER PLATINUM TP VOL 05 $14.95

DEC121115 GOOD DOG HC $16.99

MAR131034 GREEN HORNET LEGACY #37 $3.99

MAR131035 GREEN HORNET TP VOL 05 OUTCAST $19.99

APR130986 IN KITCHEN WITH ALAIN PASSARD INSIDE WORLD OF MASTER CHEF $16.95

NOV121117 JENNIFER BLOOD FIRST BLOOD #5 (MR) $3.99

APR131232 JOHN CARPENTERS ASYLUM #1 (MR) $3.99

MAR131224 JOURNALISM TP $22.00

MAR131348 LIMIT GN VOL 05 $10.95

JAN130812 LIO TP VOL 02 MAKING FRIENDS $9.99

MAR131258 MERE GN (MR) $19.95

FEB130885 MOTHER TERESA SAINT O/T SLUMS GN (RES) $11.99

APR130995 OBITUARY MAN GN (MR) $15.00

MAR131157 ODD DUCK GN $15.99

FEB130670 PIRATE EYE ONE SHOT PIRATES LIFE [DIG] $3.99

FEB130669 PRINCELESS VOL 2 #3 [DIG] $3.99

NOV121121 RED SONJA #76 $3.99

FEB131270 RESURRECTIONIST LOST WORK OF DR SPENCER BLACK HC $24.95

MAR131208 SAILOR MOON TP KODANSHA ED VOL 11 $10.99

FEB130901 SHADOW YEAR ONE #3 CVR A WAGNER $3.99

FEB130902 SHADOW YEAR ONE #3 CVR B ROSS $3.99

FEB130903 SHADOW YEAR ONE #3 CVR C SAMNEE $3.99

FEB130904 SHADOW YEAR ONE #3 CVR D CHAYKIN $3.99

MAR130912 SIMPSONS SUMMER SHINDIG #7 $4.99

MAR130821 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #249 REG CVR [P+] $2.99

APR131224 SPIDERBABE DLX PACK W/ DVD (MR) $9.99

APR131223 TALES O/T BUDDHA BEFORE HE WAS ENLIGHTENED TP (MR) $14.99

MAR130974 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #80 (MR) [DIG] $2.95

MAR131187 TOMMYSAURUS REX GN VOL 01 $10.99

MAR131188 TOMMYSAURUS REX HC VOL 01 $19.99

AUG121038 WARLORD OF MARS #25 (MR) $3.99

MAR130772 WESTWOOD WITCHES #1 (MR) $3.99

FEB130949 WITCHBLADE DEMON REBORN TP $16.99

MAGAZINES
MAR131442 COMIC SHOP NEWS #1354 PI
FEB138541 MARVEL SUPER HEROES #9 $4.99

BOOKS
FEB131271 ANGRY BIRDS HATCHING A UNIVERSE HC $50.00

FEB131256 DOCTOR WHO DALEK COLLECTIBLE FIGURINE & BOOK KIT $9.95

FEB131257 DOCTOR WHO LIGHT UP TARDIS & BOOK KIT $9.95

FEB130762 J T KRUL LOST SPARK NOVEL (RES) $9.99

OCT121242 JEFFREY JONES DEFINITIVE REFERENCE HC $39.95

NOV121346 JEFFREY JONES DEFINITIVE REFERENCE SC (MR) $24.95

MAR131449 SUPERMAN HIGH FLYING HISTORY SC $17.00

APR131416 TALES FROM LOVECRAFT MIDDLE SCHOOL #3 TEACHERS PEST $13.99

FEB131904 WARHAMMER ELVES SC $17.50

FEB131906 WARHAMMER GILEADS CURSE SC $14.00

Monday, May 27, 2013

Review: KING CONAN: The Hour of the Dragon #1

KING CONAN: THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON #1 (#9 in the series)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

WRITER: Timothy Truman
ART: Tomás Giorello
COLORS: José Villarrubia
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Gerald Parel
VARIANT COVER: Sanjulián
EDITOR: Philip R. Simon
28pp, Colors, $3.50 U.S. (May 2013)

The Hour of the Dragon is the only novel featuring Conan the Cimmerian (or Barbarian) written by author Robert E. Howard, Conan’s creator. The novel originally ran as a serial in the pulp magazine, Weird Tales, from 1935 through 1936. The novel was first published in book from as Conan the Conqueror (1950, Gnome Press).

Dark Horse Comics is producing a comic book adaptation of the novel as two six-issue miniseries. The first series, King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon, will be released to comic book stores this week (as of this writing). The second miniseries will be titled King Conan: The Conqueror.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon is written by Timothy Truman and drawn by Tomás Giorello, already acclaimed for the Conan comics they have produced over the last several years. They are joined by their stellar collaborators, José Villarrubia on colors and Richard Starkings & Comicraft on letters.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #1 opens in Tarantia, capital city of the kingdom of Aquilonia. King Conan is visiting the burial chambers of his late Queen, Zenobia. It is there that a young scribe, Pramis, meets the king and begins recording the tale King Conan tells him – the story of how he met Zenobia.

The story begins in remote Nemedia, on the eve of the Year of the Dragon. In another crypt, a group of malcontents and conspirators, seeking help to capture the thrones of kingdoms they covet, summon a wizard dead for three thousand. Now, King Conan must face a traitorous alliance backed by the resurrected sorcerer, Xaltotun.

I was ecstatic upon hearing that Dark Horse Comics was going to adapt into comics, Robert E. Howard’s sword-and-sorcery novel, The Hour of the Dragon, one of my all-time favorite books. I think that the novel has only been turned into comics once before, in the early to mid-1970s by Marvel Comics.

I am happy with the resulting first issue of King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon. Tim Truman seems to have absorbed the essence of the novel, while relocating the best of Howard’s prose into comics. The novel does have some rough patches, in which the story meanders, so I wonder if this will show over the course of a 12-issue adaptation.

Personally, I’m ready to put Tomás Giorello’s name next to the great Conan comic book artists, Barry Windsor-Smith and John Buscema. Giorello’s art has the pen and ink texture of book illustration and a graphic style that captures the bizarre sensibilities of pulp fantasy tales. José Villarrubia’s colors complete the illusion that the art belongs to a bygone pre-World War II era of fantastic fiction. However, there is no mistaking King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon for a pastiche. This is real-deal Conan.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Sunday, May 26, 2013

07-Ghost: The Bishop's Exam

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 4

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Book Review: THE BARBED CROWN

THE BARBED CROWN
HARPERCOLLINS – @HarperCollins

AUTHOR: William Dietrich
ISBN: 978-0-06-219407-7; hardcover (May 7, 2013)
368pp, B&W, $26.99 U.S.

William Dietrich is a novelist and non-fiction author. Before he was a novelist, Dietrich was a journalist. In 1990, along with reporters Ross Anderson, Mary Ann Gwinn, and Eric Nalder, Dietrich won the “Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting” at The Seattle Times “for coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and its aftermath.” As an author, Dietrich is known for a series of novels, “the Ethan Gage Adventures,” which began with Napoleon's Pyramids (2007).

Dietrich’s latest is The Barbed Crown, a recently released adventure novel. The Barbed Crown is “An Ethan Gage Adventure,” the sixth novel in the series that stars spy, adventurer, and treasure hunter, Ethan Gage, and is set during the Napoleonic wars.

Gage had fought beside Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt and was Bonaparte’s agent in Italy. Now, Gage blames the ruler of France for the death of his wife, Astiza. Leaving his only son, four-year-old Horus (Harry), in England, Gage heads to France to join a royalist conspiracy trying to unseat Napoleon and restore the Bourbon monarchy to power.

Gage’s adventure includes a motley cast of characters. There is Comtesse Catherine Marceau, a royalist sympathizer, and the smuggler Tom Johnstone, who helps Gage and Marceau get to France. He meets inventors and technology pioneers, Robert Fulton and Sir William Congreave. And, of course, there is Napoleon Bonaparte himself. As Great Britain and France prepare for war, Gage finds himself caught between two empires, both determined to use him as a pawn, but he really just wants to save his life and his family.

In the “Historical Notes” at the back of The Barbed Crown, William Dietrich writes that “History is life: complex, confusing, and inclusive,” but he doesn’t let that stop him from turning history into a great romantic adventure in the vein of 19th century novels. In the same paragraph, Dietrich also writes of history, “Problems drag, personalities linger, careers meander, and love sometimes goes unconsummated.” Of course, a skilled writer can turn that into juicy storytelling, which Dietrich does.

Ethan Gage is an attractive character, not because he is so smart and resourceful; so many characters in fiction are too smart, perfect, and live mostly trouble-free lives. Gage is never trouble-free. If the world is a stormy sea, Gage’s life is small boat tossed about by relentless waves and choppy waters, and that’s a good thing. The sense of peril and danger and the significance of the conflict are heightened, so we come to believe of Gage that “this dude ain’t gonna make it!” His troubles made me hold onto the likeable Gage even harder.

The Barbed Crown deserves to be described as “a good read,” because it is a darn good read. It is filled with colorful characters, is set in a Paris that is both glittery and squalid, and there is always a backroom, corner, or hideaway where people are hatching conspiracies. The epic confrontation on the high seas that dominates the last act is like a second novel added onto the adventures in Paris. With its surprising ending, The Barbed Crown will have you anticipating the seventh entry in the Ethan Gage series.

B+

www.williamdietrich.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Friday, May 24, 2013

Review: STAR WARS: Legacy Volume 2 #3

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #3
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (May 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World Part Three

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is a new Star Wars comic book series from Dark Horse Comics and writer Corrina Bechko and writer-artist Gabriel Hardman. The events depicted in this Star Wars comic book take place “approximately 138 years after the events in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.”

Legacy Volume 2 focuses on the character, Ania Solo, the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. Young Miss Solo, the owner of a junkyard, is on the run after inadvertently stumbling onto a conspiracy involving the Carreras System. It begins when she finds a lost lightsaber.

As Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #3 opens, young Imperial Knight, Jao Assam, is deep inside the Surd Nebula, as he continues his search for Imperial Knight Yalta Val. Elsewhere, in the Carreras System, Ania and her friend, Sauk (a refugee from Mon Calamari), and the assassin droid, AG-37, are aboard the droid’s ship, trying to escape pursuing snub fighters.

Meanwhile, the Sith continue to manipulate the construction of a communications array in the Surd Nebula. Perhaps, Jao Assam and Solo and company need to find common ground… or space.

Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda’s new eponymous Star Wars comic book series recalls both the original Star Wars films and Marvel Comics’ Star Wars comic book series (1970s-80s). It is about re-imagining classic Star Wars. The second new Star Wars comic book series, Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin, is fun just because it puts Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine in mortal danger.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is as “real Star Wars” as a Star Wars comic book can get, as far as I’m concerned. Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 artists, penciller-inker Gabriel Hardman and colorist Rachelle Rosenberg, are doing their best impersonation of Al Williamson, a quintessential Star Wars comic book and comic strip artist, without it being a mere copy or pastiche. So, when I read this well-written series, I look at Hardman and Rosenberg’s art and think that I’m seeing Star Wars personally guided by George Lucas and Al Williamson, even if Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 really isn’t.

Anyone who reads Star Wars comic books must read Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux